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Raises for the right reasons can be very effective. Occasional pay raises are a crucial part of running a successful business and retaining good employees. When your employees work hard and continue to perform well over an extended period of time, it’s important that you recognize their contributions by raising their pay. It’s also a good idea to consider adjusting the overall rate of compensation for your employees if economic or company factors change, such as an increase in the general cost of living. This will keep you competitive with the open job market. Keep in mind that rewarding employees…

Wage garnishments can be a delicate subject that many business owners would rather not get involved in. It can be unpleasant and awkward to have to deal with an employee’s personal debts. Unfortunately, you, as an employer, are responsible for responding to and handling a writ of garnishment. Not only is it uncomfortable, garnishments involve a lot of administrative work that can be time-consuming and tedious.

Understanding the unemployment claims system can go a long way in keeping taxes low for you, the employer. The system differs by state – and it applies to businesses that employ as few as one worker. Dealing with unemployment claims is a time consuming process and the degree to which it is done well can affect how much you pay in unemployment taxes. So how does it all work – and what do you need to know as an employer?

Many small businesses rely on employees to accurately report the time they start and stop working each day. While this simple approach may work well for some very small businesses with consistent employee schedules; most employers can derive good benefit from having a more accurate and reliable record of employee hours worked. Business owners can tend to shy away from time clock systems to avoid added costs, but the investment may actually save you money in the long run.

If you have employees, you have employment taxes. And with the IRS cracking down on smaller-sized businesses that are failing to properly report and/or file payroll taxes, it’s not advisable to take a light-hearted approach to managing payroll taxes. It’s imperative to properly calculate, withdraw, report and deposit tax monies from employees’ paychecks. Every employer must account for federal income tax, social security, Medicare, and federal and state unemployment tax.

President Obama wants his administration to change the rules regarding who is eligible for overtime pay under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He recently directed the Department of Labor to do its first update of FLSA regulations in 10 years.

If you own more than one business or have a business relationship with another company in which you “share” the same employees, it can be a convenient arrangement. The employees can get extra work (and extra pay) without the hassle of trying to juggle the schedules of having two separate jobs. It can also be handy for the employers for the same reasons. However, it is important for employers to be aware of the provisions in the law in situations like this.

When you’re an employer calculating overtime pay for an employee, the definition of “work week” means something very significant in legal terms. It’s actually the basis of determining overtime for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

If you own a restaurant, you’ll want to pay attention to a big change to tax rules that are now in effect. This is especially if your business has a policy of adding automatic tips to the tabs of large parties or for other special circumstances (curbside delivery, check splitting, etc.).